Walles Rally GB: Stobart M-Sport final leg summary

Top six positions provide perfect season end for Stobart
The Stobart VK M-Sport Ford team kept up their remarkable record of
scoring manufacturer points at every round of this season's FIA World
Rally Championship as Henning Solberg and Matthew...

Top six positions provide perfect season end for Stobart

The Stobart VK M-Sport Ford team kept up their remarkable record of
scoring manufacturer points at every round of this season's FIA World
Rally Championship as Henning Solberg and Matthew Wilson produced a
strong finish to the season at Rally GB.

Solberg finished fifth overall, his best ever result on the event,
with Wilson one place further back, finishing as top British driver
and equalling his best performance on his home event. The result also
confirms Wilson's best ever finish to a WRC season as he claims seventh
in the drivers' championship, one place behind Solberg.

With a new home for Rally HQ in Cardiff Bay, many of the stages remained
unchanged from previous years, incorporating classic Welsh forest stages
which provided the perfect backdrop for the thrilling climax of the WRC
season. Huge crowds flocked to the Welsh capital on Thursday night for
the spectacular Ceremonial Start where all of the crews got a fantastic
reception.

Solberg, battling his brother Petter for position in the drivers'
championship, had a difficult start to the rally as his Ford Focus RS
WRC developed a misfire on the very first stage causing the Norwegian
and co-driver Cato Menkerud to lose over a minute on the leaders. But as
the 62 starters tackled 130kms of fast and slippery stages in mid-Wales,
the Norwegian managed to improve his times, despite the recurring engine
problem, climbing from ninth to sixth by the end of the day.

Wilson and co-driver Scott Martin had a heart-stopping moment in the
first stage as their windscreen wipers stopped leaving them at the mercy
of the heavy rain and muddy roads. Thankfully the problem was only
temporary, but the young Brit suffered throughout the day with handling
problems as his car lacked traction, particularly in the slow corners.

With only a short 15-minute service at Builth Wells there was little
that the team could do to investigate Solberg and Wilson's problems, but
the technicians worked hard overnight to make sure that the cars were in
perfect condition for the start of Day 2.

The longest day of the event at 138.16kms, Saturday also turned out to
be the toughest of the rally as the autumnal Welsh weather continued to
batter the hillsides leaving standing water on the stages and slippery,
muddy conditions on the forest roads which tested the Pirelli Scorpion
gravel tyres to the maximum.

Solberg set out to chase down Sebastien Ogier but he found it hard to
stay on the pace of the Frenchman early on and was hit badly on the
final stage of the morning's three-stage loop as their windscreen wipers
struggled to cope with the constant barrage of rain. He maintained his
sixth place at the end of the day.

Wilson meanwhile set out to rebuild his confidence after Friday's
serious handling problems and produced a solid and reliable performance
throughout the day despite the treacherous conditions out on the stages.

While other crews suffered on the final day of the rally, slipping off
the roads on the tests to the north-west of Cardiff both Solberg and
Wilson maintained their consistency and reaped the rewards as Ogier slid
off the road on the penultimate stage of the rally, advancing Solberg to
fifth and Wilson to sixth.

Team sponsor Steve Perez, competing in his only round of the WRC this
season, had a strong event in his Kick Energy Ford Focus RS WRC avoiding
any major problems and climbing steadily through the field over the
three days of the rally, catching Citroen Junior Aaron Burkart on the
very last stage to finish 12th.

Other rally news

Citroen's Sebastien Loeb took a remarkable sixth successive WRC drivers'
title as he beat BP Ford Abu Dhabi's Mikko Hirvonen, his only challenger
for the title, into second place. The battle for the championship was
effectively ended on the penultimate stage of the rally as Hirvonen's
bonnet came open mid-stage giving Loeb a one-minute advantage as the
Finn was forced to stop and fix the problem.

Loeb's team mate Dani Sordo held off a spirited battle from Petter
Solberg to take third place coming in just one second behind Hirvonen
in the end. But Sebastien Ogier's impressive performance throughout the
event was marred as he slid off the road and into retirement on SS15.

Stobart VK M-Sport Ford driver Matthew Wilson said:

"Friday was a very frustrating day because we lost a lot of time with
the traction problem. The guys did a fantastic job with the car on
Friday night, though, and it was great to drive for the rest of the
rally. It would have been nice to get a top-five finish because that's
what I was aiming for before the rally started, but I am happy with
sixth. Conditions were very difficult, especially with the rain that
made it really challenging. I've secured seventh in the championship and
that's very positive."

Stobart VK M-Sport Ford driver Henning Solberg said:

"Once again the weather conditions have made this a very tough rally.
The first day was the hardest for me as it was really difficult to
concentrate with the engine misfire. But we put that behind us and had a
good run on the rest of the rally and I was happy with most of the times
we were setting. Apart from Day 1, the car has worked well and felt very
nice to drive. I tried my best throughout the weekend and it's special
to finish the season with a top-five finish."

Stobart VK M-Sport Ford driver Steve Perez said:

"It has been a really exciting rally. We have been trying so hard the
whole way around and on the penultimate stage we passed Aaron Burkart
who had gone off, so then we really had to push on the last stage to
hold him off. It's a good result, but a shame that we missed the top ten
by 20 seconds. I am really happy with how it went. It's just a case of
pushing yourself on a WRC event because you are competing against the
best and they really make you raise your game."

Stobart VK M-Sport Ford team principal Malcolm Wilson said:

"We've witnessed a very strong finish to the year for the Stobart team
on their home event. This was a tough rally and after the problems on
the first day, both crews have really got to grips with the conditions.
I'm pleased to see Matthew and Scott improving on their home rally and
it just demonstrates that his plan and approach is working; this is his
best ever championship finish. Henning has done a solid job too and it
caps off a great season for the squad."

Stobart Group CEO Andrew Tinkler said:

"It's been a great finish to the year for the Stobart team and we've
seen some fantastic performances during the season. Matthew's progress
has really impressed me during the year and the experience he's gaining
is definitely paying dividends now; he's improving year on year and
getting closer to the guys at the front. It's been a tough rally but
they have done a good job and two top six finishes is a great way to
round off the season."